Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Charlie Coyle played 5 games for the South Shore Kings of the EJHL, netting 2 goals and adding 7 assists for 9 points.

2009-10: In his first full season with the Kings, Coyle played in 42 games for that club. He scored 21 goals and added 42 assists for 63 points while picking up 50 penalty minutes. In 4 playoff games for the Kings, Coyle scored 2 goals and added 1 assist. Coyle received the John Carlton Award, which is given to the outstanding male athlete in a junior hockey program. Named the EJHL Rookie of the Year for 2009-10. Coyle is the nephew of former NHL player Tony Amonte. Drafted in the first round (28th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks.

2010-11: Coyle skated in 37 of 39 games for Boston University as a freshman and represented the USA at the 2011 U20 World Junior Championship. Coyle was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year after scoring 7 goals with 19 assists and finished with an even plus/minus and 34 PMs. The Terriers finished third in Hockey East but did not receive an NCAA bid after falling to Northeastern in the Hockey East quarterfinals. In six games for third-place USA at the junior tournament Coyle scored 2 goals with 4 assists and was +1. The Wild acquired the rights to Coyle in a multi-player, draft day deal with San Jose in June 2011.

2011-12: Coyle skated in 16 games for Boston University as a sophomore before leaving school in December to join the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL).. He scored 3 goals with 11 assists and was plus-seven with 20 penalty minutes for the Terriers. He competed at the 2012 U20 World Junior Championship, sharing the goal scoring lead for seventh-place USA at the WJC with Nick Bjugstad (4 each). He was was plus-two with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes in six games. After skating for the United States, he played 23 regular season games for Saint John and scored 15 goals with 23 assists and was plus-23. The Sea Dogs finished with the QMJHL's best record and captured the playoff championship. Coyle was named the playoff MVP after scoring 15 goals with 19 assists and finishing plus-27 in 17 playoff games. In four games at the Memorial Cup he had 4 assists and was plus-four as Saint John finished 2-2 in the tournament; losing to QMJHL-rival Shawinigan in the semifinal game.

2012-13: Coyle had an impressive NHL debut after joining the Wild in February. After not registering a point in his first five games, he finished the year with 8 goals and 6 assists in 37 games and was +3 with 28 penalty minutes. Coyle was among the leaders in ice time for the Wild during the playoff series with Chicago, averaging 18 minutes and was -4 while registering 2 assists with 2 penalty minutes. Coyle began the year with Minnesota AHL affiliate Houston and in 47 games with the Aeros scored 14 goals with 11 assists and was -8 with 22 penalty minutes.

Talent Analysis

Coyle is a big body who does not back off from engagement but possesses a range of tools. He has good puck possession skill, decent speed, and a decent shot, and he is also a good puck distributor. Considering his rookie status, he did not look all that out of place on the Wild's top line.

Future

Coyle is a power forward with considerable upside. He is expected to be a top-six forward for the Wild, get more power play minutes, and should again be an effective NHL player although he is still gaining strength and confidence.

It was a tough postseason for the majority of the Wild's prospects. Another year out of the playoffs for the rebuilding Wild is testing the patience of the fans, though a promising youth movement is on the horizon.

Photo: Tomas Jurco (DET) is one of many drafted players on the Saint John Sea Dogs roster. Jurco managed 30 goals in only 48 regular season games in 2011-12. (Photo courtesy of Dave Connell/HF)

There are plenty of reasons why the Saint John Sea Dogs are the favorite to repeat not just as QMJHL champions this year, but also to successfully defend their Memorial Cup win from last season.

First and foremost, the Sea Dogs were the top team in the regular season for a record-setting third consecutive year. They've followed that momentum into the playoffs, where they are currently in the third round and so far have out-scored their opponents by a combined total of 79-28.

All this offensive firepower is thanks to the depth of the Sea Dogs roster and no where is that depth more noticeable than when you consider the forwards on Saint John's roster in the context of the top forwards in the QMJHL.Read more»

Photo: Matt Hackett has gradually over the past year to become one of the top goaltending prospects in all of hockey. (Photo courtesy of

Russell Lansford/Icon SMI)

Over the last several seasons the Minnesota Wild have filled their pipeline to the brim with highly regarded prospects; a strategy which is starting to pay early dividends at the NHL level. Below is the inaugural edition of the Wild's prospect awards.

Photo: Drafted 28th overall, Zack Phillips came to Minnesota as part of the return in the Brent Burns trade. (Photo courtesy of Ken McKenna/HF)

Although Mikael Granlund remains the Wild's number one prospect, the depth for the Minnesota Wild continues to improve under Chuck Fletcher's watch. With the draft taking place on home turf, the Wild made a wise but somewhat surprising move to add another blue-chip defense prospect in Jonas Brodin. They then traded pending free agent Brent Burns for two prospects, Charlie Coyle and Zack Phillips, the latter selected with San Jose's first round pick. The addition of these players can only improve the long-term outlook of the franchise.